St. Rose gala Sunday to mark
church’s 130th anniversary
FREEHOLD — St. Rose of Lima Church will celebrate its 130th anniversary with a gala birthday party on Sunday at the Greystone Manor at Van’s, South Street, beginning with a 4 p.m. Celebration Mass.
That will be followed by cocktails and dinner at 5:30 p.m. and dancing at 7:30 p.m. Music will be furnished by Mission Dance. Tickets for the event are $55 per person.
The parish, which was established in 1871 at the church’s current site at McLean and Randolph streets, has enjoyed a rapid growth over the years.
The gala anniversary event is being co-chaired by Pat Federici and Betty Zuber, longtime members of the parish.
In 1940, St. Rose had a membership of 800 families. Today, under the direction of the Rev. Richard Milewski, who was installed as pastor in 1998, some 4,000 families call St. Rose home.
The Rev. Frederick Kivelitz was the force behind establishing the parish as it is today, according to a history of the church compiled by the late Angela Higgins. Kivelitz was installed as St. Rose’s pastor in 1871 and would serve in that role for 58 years until his death in 1930.
Before Kivelitz, Freehold was served by pastors stationed in Princeton.
In November 1851, a parcel of land was purchased at McLean and Randolph streets where a 25-by-600-foot frame church was built and dedicated to St. Rose of Lima. She was the first person born in the Western Hemisphere to be canonized. Kivelitz was born in Prussia in 1844 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1869 in Belgium.
After being named pastor at St. Rose, Kivelitz purchased a house on McLean Street to be used as a rectory.
Although Kivelitz celebrated Mass every Sunday in Freehold, he also served missions scattered over an area of 125 square miles where about 200 Catholic families resided. Kivelitz rode a horse with a pack attached to the saddle holding his vestments and chalice.
The areas where he performed his pastoral duties were Jamesburg, Bradevelt (Marlboro), Colts Neck, Farmingdale, Manalapan, Perrineville (Millstone Township), Lakewood, Englishtown and Hightstown.
Baptisms were often held in private homes because many parishioners had no means of transportation to Freehold.
The St. Rose parish was just 4 years old when it got into the education business. A one-story school building was purchased and moved to the church property on Randolph Street. It was opened in 1875 with 60 children and one teacher. The following year a second floor was added to serve as a convent. In 1878 the Sisters of St. Francis began their ministry of education which continues to this day.
The present church was built under the direction of Kivelitz and dedicated on Aug. 27, 1882. The spire was finished in 1904 and bells were installed in 1905.
Many additions and renovations were made to the church facilities in the 1930s.
Expansion and growth marked the 1950s when builders opened new housing developments in the Freehold area, causing area schools to expand. St. Rose expanded when the military school on South Street, where the present St. Rose of Lima school is located, and the Lincoln Street playground were purchased.
The Rev. Thomas A. Coffey became the church’s fourth pastor in 1971, during the parish’s Centennial Celebration, and served in that role until his retirement in 1990.
Coffey guided the construction of a new church building, known as the Chapel, which was dedicated on Nov. 2, 1980.
In 1990, the Rev. Gerald McCarron was installed as pastor and oversaw the opening of a Hispanic ministry on Throckmorton Street, the painting and renovation of the church, and the regionalization of the school.